How does the saying go? You can tell how much fun a watch is by the amount of lume it has? Maybe not, but that scale can certainly be applied to the Farr and Swit Wayfinder. I discovered this American brand and reference the same way most things are found these days: Social media. Before even thinking about owning one, I reached out to the company to declare my love for the wild amount of glow their watch produced. I was quickly speaking with Adam, one of the owners and face of the company. He was eager to talk about their watches, designs, and I even bounced some ideas for future watches with him. The name “Farr” “And” “Swit” is taken from parts of each of the three creators names. They started with their Seaplane Automatic watch but the Wayfinder and its sweeping quartz and fun design are what stole my heart.
The conversation quickly turned into me rushing to buy the watch that drew me in. The watch comes on a fabric loop strap but I advised Adam that those were not for me, so he gladly swapped it out with a rubber Barton strap which is a perfect fit. The watch arrived quickly and it was love at first sight. The 42mm case was perfect for my not-small wrist, but tapered enough to be versatile for anyone. The sapphire lens has an anti-reflective coating that makes the dial easily legible in any light. The sweeping quartz movement provides the perfect blend of that all-appealing smooth ticking of a mechanical movement with the accuracy and ease of use of a quartz powered one. The topographical dial is well designed and far more unique than the standard single-color choice made by most companies. The star of the show is of course the FOUR different colors of luminescent paint on the dial. It’s amazing to see in person and photographs wonderfully. The strong glow will make you stare and stare and stare.
While I certainly am a fan, there are some details that may not be for everyone. The case is a hefty 42mm, wearing more like 43-44mm. The lugs are slightly curved to the wrist which helps. I find that a rubber strap makes the watch the most comfortable. The brushed finishing provides a rugged yet refined look, but makes it far from a dress watch. This one is not fitting under your dress shirt at the next wedding you attend. As someone who likes a variety of watches (and owns more than a few), this doesn’t bother me in the least, but it likely won’t qualify for those of you with a one-watch-collection desire.
DIAL: Topography Full Lume
LUME: C3 Blue Grade X EF, C3 Green Grade X EF, Dark Orange, BGW9 on Bezel
STRAP: Two Straps Included:
- Navy Military Style Parachute Elastic
- Grey seat belt Military Style Strap
DIMENSIONS: 50.5mm lug to lug
THICKNESS: 12.5mm
LUG WIDTH: 22mm
CROWN: Screw Down
WARRANTY: 1 year
1 Comment
love seeing the VH31 ‘sweeping’ quartz on the farr & swit. i’m a longtime mechanical snob and vintage watch restorer who for my personal watches no longer buys mechanicals. the hassle of resetting them when not in constant use or watchwinder time, and simply for inaccuracy, was a constant pain, plus the high dollars it takes to service even 3hand movements (now about twice the $150 it was when i got into the hobby/business in 2000). i’ve gone for solar divers that never have these issues and will last 10-20 years without needing their batteries changed. as for VH31 movements, i love that i can just crack open the back carefully with proper tooling, blow out the movement, add a gasket if needed, change the battery, and reseal it for another 2 years. great design like my wolbrook worldtimer, or this farr & swit, are a delight to buy at a reasonable price, and have a sweep that is actually the same 14,400 as a real mechanical movement (a rare movement albeit).